Rainy Day! So...come for a walk with me round the garden on a sunny day !

We’ll look at the rhodies first…
The Rhodies have been flowering their heads off ! I can’t believe how well they are doing after I had dug them up from Willow Cottage from their borders and into big pots

This last one has been amazing this year! The flowers are huge and the colour fantastic ! All the family clubbed together to buy Rick , my hubby this one for his 65th birthday 9 years ago !
As we leave this corner , you will see what looks very much like a Lupin ! It is from the same family , but unfortunately have forgotten its name ! Any ideas , anyone !

Its only a small garden , but packed with flowers and shrubs ! And I haven’t finished yet ! Hahaa!
We’ll walk down the path between the raised beds first and then onto the main borders….

Here is the Malus Red Sentinel doing quite well in a big pot, a Ligularia Dentata which will flower next month and a beautiful Sennetti ..£3.99 from our local nursery !

On the right of the border in a pot is the ( I think ) the Cut Leaf Maple or Acer as we all know them by !

We are coming up to the Erysium, the perrennial wallflower…and yes…I do know I should cut the flowers back , but …scissors in my hand …I just can’t do it ! lol

next to that, just coming into flower is Euphorbia Griffithi
and a golden Heuchera and pansies below it. The pansies were from last year , would you believe !

Looking back , you can see that there is a lot going on in the border to the right…Ligularias, day Lilies and Red Hot Pokers, all to come into flower, but everything looks so lush! As long as the dreaded slugs and snails aren’t hungry !
This is the “hot” corner ! I love to sit here as I can get a good view of all the garden. All I need is the sun and a good book! The Ceonothis has grown so quickly ! Isn’t it gorgeous! We only bought it 2 years ago just after moving in here and it was a very small plant then ! We can’t believe how quick its grown ! Oh my…how big will it be in another 2 years !!!

I decided to move the big Amalenchier in its pot to this corner as the wind was battering it where it was in the Rhodie corner ! That was a job, I can tell you ! It had bent over quite badly, so after dragging it slowly down the walkway, I then had to get it out of its pot ! Not so easy …totally pot bound and weighed a ton ! I eventually decided to carefully lay it on its side and with one foot on the pot , then bit by bit it came out . As Rick is partially disabled and ssh…I don’t tell him what I’m doing, I decided to get the help of a neighbour as there was no way I could lift it back into the pot, plus I had to pack it on one side so that it would be upright again. The neighbour came and looking on in amazement , I couldn’t believe how easy he made it look as he lifted it !
Why do I do these difficult jobs ! Hahaa!

Here is the Ceonothis ! I wandered off from this, didn’t I!
I bet you thought I’d forgotten it ! Hahaa!
Now we will go through the next arch into the main garden , but will have a look to see how that little pond my friend and I put in last year for Rick’s birthday .

Its looking good, don’t you think ! And 3 frogs too ! Can you see them !

The Spirea Gold Flame is doing well after I cut it back to the ground in March and The Pieris in the back ground is doing better in its new place ! Rick says everything ducks when I come out into the garden with pruners in my hand and that look on my face which says…you will do better somewhere else ! Hahaa!

I won’t take you into the other garden as it hasn’t changed much since my last blog.
This one is for you Cottage Karen ! I bought a Corinilla at last! Even if it is a small one !

I hope you have enjoyed your visit to our little garden and before you go, I would like to show you my very early birthday present ( not until July) from my friend Pat. The Oleander is a plant I’ve always loved since seeing them on holiday abroad. As it was on offer through the Garden News at a good price , she sent for it for me. Of course, she had to get one too ! Hahaa!

A closer look ! It smells gorgeous too !

Thank you for joining me on a very long walk round a very little garden !

A lovely garden , Rose , with a dedicated "operator" .
It's a credit to all your hard work .
Love the rhododendrons , especially the pale yellow ,
but everything is looking good .
Thanks for the visit .

My word Rose that is a beautiful and well-loved garden. The rhodies look wonderful. Is the one in the 3rd picture scented? It looks very similar to one that we saw at Rosemoor this week and that had a lovely, sweet scent.

You have a really delightful garden, in every corner is a special treat.

What a lovely walk round Rose. haven't your Rhodies done well? And the Spirea is coming on a treat. The Malus is pretty. I've decided to get another tree in the autumn and can't decide what, but that one's tempting. Do you think the lupinlike plant could be a tree lupin?

Thanks Chris. I have never thought to check if they are scented ! I don't think they are, but will pop out now and see ! Mind you...I think I would know by now ! hahaa!
I've been feeding the Corinilla with miracle grow Karen. It might be wishful thinking, but I'm sure its looking better since I took that picture !
I never thought of that Snoopdog ! I'll be going round the garden now to see ! lol I must admit that after all the rain on Friday, the garden looked so lush. Thanks Mel. I can't believe how the Ceonothis has grown! I've never seen any shrub grow at such a rate as this one!
We love the little pond now. I just wish I'd been able to find the room for a bigger one ! At the time , don't know if you remember, but it was a surprise for Rick's birthday and was done while he was resting in bed and that was the only size I could fit in there !
Thanks Steragram. I don't think its the Lupin tree as it doesn't get any bigger and I do seem to remember it has an unusual name. The Malus is a good idea for you, but my favourite is either the Amelenchier for the Spring blossom and Autumn colour or the Sorbus Joseph Rock. I have the Amelenchier in a big pot here which came out of the Willow Cottage garden and is still doing well. Plus it doesn't get too big.

Hi Rose, I'm slow catching up lol ... and I'll have a better look at your blog later on. I'm in a bit of a rush this morning.

But I wanted to tel you that lupin-like plant I believe to be a type of Babtisia. They are usually blue, but there is a yellow one called Carolina Moonlight.
I used to have a lovely blue one which I accidentally sprayed with weed killer instead of bug killer last
year :( lol ...

Hello Hywel, I always seem to be slow catching up too !
Thank you for taking the trouble to check out this plant. That must have been annoying , spraying that poor plant with weed killer !
Do you remember Libet? We write to each other still and have regular phone calls. She is very busy being part of a landscape team doing big jobs all over N. Ireland. Anyway, I had asked her about this plant and she came up with the name Thermopsis Villosa...the False Lupine ! Have you heard of this ? It will be interesting to find out which one it is ! I will have to look online and will let you know .

I hope you find the correct name for your plant, but it's beautiful anyway :)
Nice that you are still in touch with Libet.

You've worked wonders with your garden. It's beautiful !
You sound like me when you've got cutters in your hand. Beryl tells me not to murder the plants lol but I think a good cut back does them good :o)

I do like what you have achieved in such a short time. Your garden is beautiful. I dk which ceanothus I have but it too took off like a rocket. Its now about 12' tall. I do keep cutting it back but the more I cut it the better it grows. I like the lupin like flower, the Thermopsis Villosa. Do you collect seed from it. If so I would like to try growing it as it seems to be so much more hardy than the tree lupin. I cannot say I have seen it in any of the local garden centres or nurseries. I love my rhodos and yours are stunning. They really do compensate for the loss of the daffodils as the season moves on. I have always admired your pond and like to see how it has grown in to add a lot to the space. I don't think the size matters as much as the value it adds for the wild life.

I have been thinking about your little pond, Rose, amd I think it is a wonderful example. You have frogs appreciating it, and it just shows that size doesn't necessarily matter! I have an old baby bath - sunken -down at the bottom of the garden. I do clear out the fallen leaves at least once a year - when I looked last week there was a frog in there, so I left it alone. But it just goes to show that providing the habitat, no matter what size, really does matter!

Thank you Mariamasom and Stroller ! Bit late getting back to you ! Sorry !

Thanks Scotsgran ! I got the plant from our local nursery last year, but it didn't do anything at all and nearly sent it to the compost heap ! I'm pleased I gave it another chance! I wonder if it could be biennial ! I will check for seed heads and if there are any , will send you some . I wonder if it will come true from seed too !

Thanks Mel ! When I first put the pond in , I thought it was far too small and nothing happened, but now patience has paid off !

Thank you Rose. I googled the Thermopsis Villosa and it says you should cut it back after flowering. Maybe that is why we do not see it for sale anywhere.
I know you enjoy the pond in the garden but did you know that a pond to attract toads could be great down on the allotment. I copied this from the link I have copied below. Toads absorb water through their skin, so shallow dishes of water will attract toads to the area of the garden where you need insect control. Toads thrive on insects and they can eat literally thousands. They’ll also eat even more unwelcome pests such as slugs, snails and mosquitoes which has to be a far healthier alternative to using pesticides. http://www.wildlifegardener.co.uk/encouraging-toads-garden.html

Scotsgran, one of the first things we thought we would like on our little allotment was a pond ! One of our allotment neighbours gave us this huge trug, without handles and we thought that could be the pond. But unfortunately, it was deeper and wider than we thought and the only place spare was in the little orchard that we created ! Plus, I think Rick with his problems wouldn't be able to dig this deep ! We haven't ruled it out yet ! Maybe we could find something smaller to slot in this area ! Thanks for that though ! I didn't know toads ate mosquitoes ! I haven't seen a toad for years and Willow Cottage had two large ponds ! I wonder why ! Do they just look like a big frog ?
This has given me something to think about !

I hope you do get more flowers Rose. I much prefer things which flower over a longer time. I do find the digitalis flowers again if I dead head them as do lupins.
Toads have warty looking skin and frogs look shiny and wet even when they are dry if I remember them correctly. Frogs have powerful back legs for hopping while toads have stubby legs. An upside down bin lid would make a good pond for toads. Virtually no digging and it can be anchored with stones or wood, laid so that the toads can keep in shade. Highlighting the link given above, then right clicking to get the drop down menu and choosing "Go to ---etc." will give you lots of information. As far as I know the toads are all over the UK so you should be able to attract some. They sound like every gardeners dream team.

Do you wait until the digitalis spike has completely finished, Scotsgran? And do you cut it right down at the base? I love them, and would do anything to keep them flowering. Mind you, most of mine are just the common ones.

I find the digitalis have side branches on the flowering stems which develop in to flowering spikes if I dead head the original flower spike back to the first side branch below. I have had them in the garden for so long I cannot remember where they originated but they come in all colours from almost white to a dark pink.

As usual I'm late getting back to you all ! Never enough hours in the day ! Thank you once again Scotsgran for the info too. I used to always dead head my Digitalis and it would flower for ages, but the only disappointment I had was a beautiful one I sent for via the Garden News and it was a sterile one, but flowered all summer, new colours too! It was called " Illumination ! The only thing was that it only lasted two years then totally disappeared !
So..Mel, if you come across these new ones , be aware they don't last !
Thank you Nana d for your lovely comment !

Just found this blog Rose. So glad I did because it was a pleasure to look around your lovely garden. You have some beautiful Rhodies. Your Ceanothus is a very happy looking shrub too. I bought six Illumination digitalis 2 years ago. I'm thinking they will have disappeared next year then. They are so pretty it's a shame. I like the splashes of yellow in your garden too.